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A Finding Aid to the Martin M. Weitz Papers. 1919-1989.Manuscript Collection No. 40
Biographical SketchMartin M. Weitz was born in 1907, in Denver, Colorado, the son of Joseph and Rachel (Kauffman) Weitz. He was ordained a rabbi from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1934, after seven years of study, and simultaneously received a B.A. from the University of Cincinnati. He received a Ph.D. from Burton College and Seminary in Colorado in 1956 and also studied at the Colorado State College of Education, and the Harvard Chaplain School. In 1959, he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. While at Hebrew Union College, he edited and managed the Hebrew Union College Monthly, a magazine for rabbis, was the founding editor of the Youth Leader for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, and edited works for the Social Press, including Religion and Its Social Setting by Abraham Cronbach. Upon graduation, Weitz was the first director of the B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. In 1937, Weitz accepted his first pulpit invitation from Beth Hillel Temple at Kenosha, Wisconsin where he served for seven years before entering the United States Chaplaincy Service. While in the service, he was given a special commendation for his morale-building among all faiths. In 1946, he became rabbi of Temple B'nai Jeshurun of Des Moines, Iowa, and taught at Drake University for three years. From 1949-51, he worked at Temple Beth Israel in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Under his guidance, the congregation doubled in size. In 1951, Weitz moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where he was a founder of the Brotherhood Council of Atlantic County for the National Conference of Christians and Jews, chairman of the Annual Institute for Mental Health, and chairman of the trustees for a community college in Southern New Jersey. He also served as editor of American publications for the World Union for Progressive Judaism. In the summer of 1960, he was invited to visit Israel, and, on behalf of the Ventnor Foundation, to visit Cologne, Frankfort, and Berlin. His reports on the hospitals and doctors in Israel, West Germany, and Switzerland were published in the U.S. Congressional Record on March 1 and 8, 1961. In 1967, Weitz, who lectured at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania for thirteen years, became a full-time faculty member of the predominately black university. He previously served Beth Israel Congregation of Atlantic City for eleven years and North Shore Congregation of Syosset, New York for four more years. He became the Director for the Center of Interfaith Studies at Lincoln and worked on behalf of all faiths and creeds at Lincoln until 1974. Weitz annually led Lincoln University student tours throughout the United States and abroad. In 1974, Weitz went to Wilmington, North Carolina as rabbi of Temple of Israel, where he also developed a resident lectureship in Judaic studies at the University of North Carolina, and was involved at the Wilmington-New Hanover Museum and Bicentennial Heritage Committee. In October of 1976, he went into semi-retirement and moved to a new home in San Diego, California, to teach at National University. Martin M. Weitz wrote numerous books and booklets including "Timberline," a chapel book as a student at Hebrew Union College, manuals for the World Union for Progressive Judaism (1955), Life Without Strife(1957-58), Decalogues for Our Day(1962), a booklet about Lincoln University's scholarly program, Campus on a Compass(1969), and edited The Hourglass, a journal published by the Center of Interfaith Studies at Lincoln University (1969-72). Martin M. Weitz died in 1992. Scope and Content NoteThe Martin M. Weitz Papers consist of correspondence which reflects Weitz's scholarly activities, rabbinical career, and activities within the American Jewish community and in the larger American community. Arrangement NoteThis collection is arranged in two (2) series:
Conditions of Access and UseTerms of Access and UseThis collection is open to all users. The original manuscript collection is available in the Barrows-Loebelson Reading Room of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. Property and Literary RightsMartin M. Weitz, by the act of donating the Martin M. Weitz Papers to the American Jewish Archives, assigned all property rights to the American Jewish Archives. Literary rights are retained by Martin M. Weitz and his heirs. Literary rights may also be retained by specific creators of materials. Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives. For more information see the American Jewish Archives copyright information webpage. Administrative InformationPreferred CitationFootnotes and bibliographic references should refer to the Martin M. Weitz Papers and the American Jewish Archives. A suggestion for at least the first citation is as follows: [Description], [Date], Box #, Folder #. MS-40. Martin M. Weitz Papers. American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio. ProvenanceThe Martin M. Weitz Papers were received from Martin M. Weitz, Laguna, California, in various installments during the years 1976-1988. Processing InformationProcessed by AJA Staff. Additional processing by Michelle Wirth Detroit, November, 2011. This collection was arranged and described according to minimal-processing standards. Funding, in part, for the arrangement and description of this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Box Folder Listing
Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the AJA Online Catalog. Persons and FamiliesWeitz, Martin Mishli
InstitutionsCommunity Colleges of New Jersey
Congregation Beth Israel (Atlantic City,
N.J.)
Lincoln University (Pa.)
National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People
Temple B'nai Jeshurun (Des Moines,
Iowa)
Temple Beth Hillel (Kenosha, Wis.)
Temple Beth Israel (Hot Springs,
Ark.)
United States. National Historical
Publications and Records Commission
PlacesAtlantic City (N.J)
Des Moines (Iowa)
Hot Springs (Ark.)
Kenosha (Wis.)
Pennsylvania
OccupationsChaplains, Military
Rabbis
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